Report of Theft From Remains Of Polish Jet

By ELLEN BARRY

Published: June 8, 2010

MOSCOW -- Russian servicemen used bank cards stolen from the remains of a Polish airliner that crashed April 10, withdrawing funds from the savings of one of the 96 Polish officials killed in the disaster, Russian news services reported Monday night, citing law enforcement officials.

Three servicemen assigned to guard the Smolensk airport have been arrested on suspicion of theft, an official from the Central Federal District told Interfax, speaking anonymously. Spokesmen for Russia's Defense Ministry were not available for comment late Monday.

Prosecutors in Warsaw said that between one and three hours after the crash, about $1,700 was withdrawn using a bank card belonging to Andrzej Przewoznik, secretary general of the Council for the Protection of the Memory of Combat and Martyrdom. A statement from a spokeswoman for the Polish prosecutors, Monika Lewandowska, said the suspects were conscripted soldiers assigned to a nearby garrison, and that they made six additional unsuccessful attempts to withdraw money from a second card belonging to Mr. Przewoznik on the day of the crash.

The theft, if confirmed, could taint the atmosphere of cooperation that drew Russia and Poland together in April. Poland's president, Lech Kaczynski, and 95 others were killed when the plane tried to land in a heavy fog on the way to a ceremony commemorating the massacre of 20,000 Polish officers by Soviet troops during World War II.

An outpouring of compassion from Russian officials -- including a spontaneous embrace between Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin and his Polish counterpart -- seemed to end a long chill that had set in between the two neighbors. But news reports of the theft revived mutual sniping. The news first broke Saturday in Rzeczpospolita, a daily newspaper in Poland. Pawel Gras, a spokesman for the Polish government, confirmed Sunday that three riot policemen had been arrested for stealing a credit card. The account was denied by Russia's Interior Ministry, which issued a statement noting that Poland's acting president had decorated four Russian officers for their service to Poland.

Mr. Gras acknowledged Monday that he had incorrectly identified the suspects as police officers, but he said his mistake ''does not change the fact that a shameful act took place,'' Gazeta Wyborcza reported.

According to the statement from Ms. Lewandowska, Polish authorities first reported the thefts to their Russian counterparts on May 21.